Translated from Tamil by Professor Asokan, Pasmila Raviraj, and Professor Sivasegaram
Introduction:
The translation of S.L.M. Hanifa’s
short stories into The Meccan Shawl is more than a mere linguistic
exercise; it is a vital bridge between generations and a profound act of
cultural preservation. Orchestrated by Professor Asokan (Eluttukkiniyavan),
Pasmila Raviraj, and Professor Sivasegaram, this English rendering allows the
vibrant, salt-tinged world of the Eastern Province to breathe in a new tongue.
To encounter Hanifa’s work is to
touch the very soil of the Batticaloa region. As a contemporary and schoolmate
of Professor Asokan at Trinity College, sharing the same Matale roots, I recall
our youth in Kandy with great fondness. We would spend our annual prize money
scouring the city's leading bookshops, a enduring tribute to a lifelong
devotion to the written word that has clearly defined Asokan’s disciplined and
humble path toward his current chair in academia. It is this shared history of
literary discovery that made me accept his request to write a review of this
collection as not merely a task, but a deeply personal mission.
In evaluating this work, I
committed to a rigorous process: immersing myself first in the original Tamil
prose to capture the "soul" of Hanifa’s regional dialect, and then
devouring the English translation. While it is often said that local nuances
are the first casualties of translation, these three translators have achieved
something remarkable. They have navigated the treacherous waters between
languages with such grace that the essence of the Moor community remains
intact.
As the Italian proverb famously
suggests, "Traduttore, traditore" (the translator is a
traitor), yet here the opposite is true. The translators have been fiercely
loyal to the spirit of the original. This English edition is a gift to the
second-generation diaspora, those children who, through the vagaries of
migration and time, may not read or write in Tamil, but who crave a connection
to their rich, ancestral roots. Through this book, the stories of the East are
no longer locked behind a language barrier; they are open, accessible, and
enduring.
Review:
In the landscape of Sri Lankan Tamil literature,
Islamic writers have long occupied a unique and vital space, tracing a lineage
from the classical Arabu-Tamil traditions to the modern, socially conscious prose of
today.. Historically,
this literature was rooted in religious and didactic themes, but the 20th
century saw a shift toward social realism and the exploration of the distinct
cultural identity of the Moor community.
S.L.M. Hanifa is a cornerstone of this
movement, specifically for the Eastern Province. He bridges the gap between the traditional folk wisdom of the Eastern
Province and the sophisticated literary techniques of the "Manikkodi"
era. Hanifa does not merely write about Muslims; he captures the very pulse of
the Batticaloa region, using regional dialects and a deep humanism that
elevates the "common man" to a level of literary significance.
Hanifa’s
prose is a masterclass in the "Batticaloa dialect," a linguistic
choice that is both a political act of cultural preservation and a stylistic
triumph. He rejects the sterile, standardized Tamil often found in
Colombo-centric publications in favor of the rich, earthy "Spoken
Tamil" of the village. His style is influenced by literary giants like La.
Sa. Ramamirtham and T. Janakiraman, yet it remains firmly rooted in the local
soil. There is a rhythmic, almost poetic quality to his descriptions of the
landscape, its poverty, the lagoons, the paddy fields, the scent of the earth, and its deep-seated traditions into
literary art. By doing so, he didn't just write stories; he mapped the soul of
a people.
The collection is a masterwork of regional realism.
Hanifa’s commitment to the "Batticaloa dialect" is not just a
stylistic choice but a vital preservation of a unique linguistic identity. His
deep humanism ensures that even the most mundane activities are treated with a
reverence that is truly professional and moving.
One potential criticism is that the dialect-heavy
prose may occasionally alienate readers who are not familiar with the specific
idioms of the Eastern Province, potentially limiting the work’s immediate
accessibility. Additionally, the author’s focus on the purity of the
"common man" can sometimes border on a romanticization of rural
hardship, potentially glossing over the more abrasive aspects of village life
in favor of a cohesive humanistic narrative.
However, this English rendition achieves a
remarkable equilibrium, distilling the dense regionalism of the original into a
prose that is as accessible as it is evocative, ensuring the soul of the
stories remains uncompromised.
